


The Black Queen and Overwatch

by MaryRoyale



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Female Friendships, Gen, Women Supporting Women
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:15:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26868016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaryRoyale/pseuds/MaryRoyale
Summary: Penelope stumbles across a support forum for sidekicks and makes friends with a user who styles themselves as "Overwatch." It's the start of a beautiful friendship.
Relationships: Felicity Smoak & Penelope Garcia
Comments: 15
Kudos: 72
Collections: Suggested Good Reads





	The Black Queen and Overwatch

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in 2014. I love Penelope Garcia and I love Felicity Smoak and I thought to myself-- "You know what? They would totally love the heck out of each other." It's not really Garcia/Morgan or Oliver/Felicity so I didn't tag them that way, but that's because the whole focus of this is the friendship between the two women. I think at that point in both shows... there was canonical pining on Penelope's and Felicity's parts. 
> 
> Of course Derek and Oliver show up-- because I can't not stick them in there wherever and whenever I can.

The first time that the Black Queen and Overwatch ‘met’ it was online in a forum that somebody had titled “The Pining Sidekick Support Group”. The title had made Penelope laugh out loud for the first time in weeks and she joined the forum under her old hacker name. But of course, even if the Black Queen and Overwatch had never _met_ before it was impossible for them to not know about one another. The underworld of hackers was too close, too incestuous, for them to not know of one another.

 _Overwatch_ : You might want to pick another username Black Queen.

 _Black Queen_ : Why?

 _Overwatch_ : That one’s already taken.

 _Black Queen_ : I know it is. By me.

What ensued was the hacker equivalent of an ID check, which Penelope passed with flying colors. It was quickly followed by mutual fangirling.

The odd part was where Penelope _finally_ felt like she had someone who understood her. All of the forum members really did work for heroes of one sort or another. Penelope’s heroes were a bit more… mundane… compared to the other people on the forum. None of her babies were out traipsing around vampires or mutant super-soldiers, which was just fine by her. Still—she _got_ what the others were talking about, and they got her, which was just rare enough that it was precious to her.

Of all the people on the forum Penelope felt the closest to Overwatch because, hey, two blonde-bombshell computer hackers extraordinaire? Both of them pining after broken men, and too scared themselves of making their hearts that vulnerable? It was like they were twin sisters separated at birth… and by some number of years that Penelope wasn’t comfortable examining at the moment.

 _Overwatch_ : This is just depressing.

 _Black Queen_ : What is?

 _Overwatch_ : Well, you basically *are* me, and you still don’t have your shit together. That means that I am going to be pining after him for the next ten years. It’s pathetic.

 _Black Queen_ : Hey!

 _Overwatch_ : Sorry?

 _Black Queen_ : Ugh. Never mind, it’s the truth. We are pathetic.

The first time that the Black Queen and Overwatch got to meet in real life was at a national computer sciences conference. Each of them was supposed to present papers and they thought it would be the perfect chance to meet. The both of them were ridiculously excited about meeting one another in person. Penelope bounced around the BAU with a silly grin, humming under her breath.

“Something you want to tell me, Baby Girl?” Derek asked. He was leaning against the door jamb and watching her with a slight smile.

“I’m just excited about the upcoming conference, Sugar,” she chirped happily.

“Uh huh.” Derek watched her for several moments. She was excited about this conference… too excited. There was way more than presenting a paper on whatever-it-was in play.

The bad feeling that was plaguing Derek only grew worse when he walked by Penelope’s office later and overheard part of a conversation. Penelope was giggling into her head set and talking to… somebody.

“Well, what happens at the conference stays at the conference, right?” Penelope said coyly. A naughty giggle escaped at whatever the other person said. “We should definitely do that!”

Derek scowled and kept walking. Whatever was going on was not good. He wondered if he could get a few days off from Hotch so that he could go to wherever this conference was.

* * *

“Felicity?”

Quickly, Felicity spun on her heels to see who was calling her name. A curvy blonde was peering at Felicity’s name tag. A pink streak of hair was covering her own name tag.

“Penelope?” Felicity guessed and tilted her head to the side.

The blonde grinned at her and nodded exuberantly. “Yeah, it’s me! Oh my god, I can’t believe that we’re actually meeting.”

Felicity grinned back. “I know!”

The two women hugged each other and then started babbling at one another excitedly. Oliver hung in the shadows watching them. He wasn’t sure if he should be relieved or not. The other blonde, whoever she was, did not appear to be a threat, but he was reserving judgment. Just because the blonde hadn’t immediately tried to kill, maim, or destroy Felicity didn’t mean she wasn’t dangerous. Anyone who made Felicity smile like that was worth watching.

By day two, Oliver had noticed the large black man who seemed to be shadowing his… um… well, Felicity. His scowl deepened and he decided to find out what was going on, except the other guy had apparently decided the same thing. He slid in the seat across from Oliver and flashed a charming smile that didn’t reach his dark eyes.

“Is there a reason that you’ve been staring at my Baby Girl for the last two days?” The man asked in a tightly controlled voice.

Oliver’s eyebrows rose. _Really_? “Your _Baby Girl_?” He sputtered helplessly. He glanced at Felicity who was talking animatedly and waving her hands in the air and frowned. “She’s not yours,” Oliver growled.

The man snorted. “She sure as hell isn’t yours,” he growled back.

The two men sat in sullen silence watching the two cheerful blondes bow their heads towards one another and burst into another fit of giggles. Their hands fluttered through the air and their eyes flashed as they spoke. It was odd how different, and how alike they were. His Felicity was sleek with her blonde hair pulled back into a smooth, high ponytail. The other blonde’s hair fell in loose curls down her back and there were wild pink streaks scattered through. They both wore glasses in bright colors. Both women wore dangerously high heels and they clicked briskly across the floor in a staccato beat.

Oliver’s reverie was broken when the other man’s phone went off. He pulled it out of his pocket and sighed at the display. The other blonde also pulled out her phone and pouted at it. She said something to Felicity who nodded and stood up to hug her. Then the blonde turned and walked to their table.

“Ready to go, Hot Stuff?” She asked the other man.

He spluttered. “How did you know?”

The blonde gave him a look that was eerily similar to the way that Felicity looked at Oliver. “Derek,” she sighed. “Sometimes you are utterly predictable. Come on, we’ve got to meet the team in,” she glanced at her phone, “two hours. Hotch is going to be cranky that he had to hold the jet. You know how he gets.”

“Yeah,” Derek agreed. He slid an arm around her shoulders and tossed a challenging look at Oliver behind her back. “Let’s go, Sweetness.”

The blonde waved at Felicity who smiled and waved back then she was marching over to his table.

“Really, Oliver?” The look in her eyes wasn’t promising.

He smiled at her weakly and tried to look innocent. “I just love the martinis here.”

“In Hoboken?” Felicity just looked at him.

“Yeah.” Oliver nodded.

“You flew to Hoboken, New Jersey to drink martinis in the bar of a Marriott,” Felicity asked him with a completely deadpan expression.

“Yup,” Oliver agreed and nodded again. He stood up and rubbed his hands together. “So, uh, you want to grab some lunch?”


End file.
